


Leaders and Lovers

by Sent2TheBeast



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Much Needed Conversation, Tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 13:10:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11737731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sent2TheBeast/pseuds/Sent2TheBeast
Summary: “Mr. Bane,” Alec somehow manages to say, forcing it out over everything else he needs Magnus to know. And there is no teasing lilt in his voice this time, no trace of flirtation, or irony. Just a man desperately in love, trying to keep himself from falling apart in front of the only person who could hold him together. When he holds out his hand, it shakes.Alec holds a Cabinet meeting following his 'break up' with Magnus. And there are quite a few things he needs to get off his chest.





	Leaders and Lovers

**Author's Note:**

> To celebrate the release of episode 2x19. I've been writing this for a week and just had to scramble to finish before tonight's episode aired because I don't want my own interpretations of how things played out to changed based on the contents of the episode.

Alec is exhausted, his eyes as heavy as his heart, but the Downworld is falling apart around him, and a war is about to begin, so he stands tall, forcing his shoulders back, forcing his chin up, forcing his face to remain composed as Luke, Meliorn, and Raphael stroll into the room. He shakes their hands with whatever strength he can muster, and looks them in the eyes to make sure his own will not fill with tears. 

 

“Mr. Garroway,” Alec nods at Luke “Thank you so much for being here today,”

 

“Whatever you need, Mr. Lightwood,” and Alec swears there’s a sad look in Luke’s eyes. It makes Alec feel naked in this hall, exposed to everyone, like Luke knew exactly what was going on. And…maybe he did, but if Alec thought about that now, he wouldn’t be able to keep himself together. 

 

“Mr. Santiago,” Alec shakes off the feeling, trying to keep his voice neutral as he extends his hand. He might be working with Raphael now, but that doesn’t stop the little bubble of anger from rising in his chest whenever he saw his face, and thought about what he had done to Izzy. “Thank you so much for being here today,” 

 

Raphael takes his hand, quickly, shakes it once, nods, and walks away, joining Luke in standing by the conference table. Alec doesn’t mind too much, he knows Raphael is trying to keep his distance out of guilt. 

 

“Mr….you know, I’m not quite sure I’ve ever gotten your last name,” he says earnestly, curiously, to Meliorn as he holds out his hand. 

 

“Meliorn is fine,” he replies cooly, and joins the others without another word, without so much as a handshake. Alec turns his back to the door, looking out to the leaders of the Downworld, faces pulled tight in anxiety, carrying the weight of their people’s future on their shoulders, and it tugs at Alec’s heart. A wave of guilt knots in his stomach as he thinks about how much trust they had all put in him. How much faith they had in the only Head of Institute to ever make an effort to treat the Downworlders as equals. 

 

The sound of footsteps behind him causes his breath to catch in his throat, and his already broken heart to shatter into dust. But the others don’t know about what happened. How Magnus had walked away, hadn’t even looked back. So he shuts himself down, he goes in to Battle Mode, he forces himself out of his own head, and he turns to face him. Another wave of heartbreak hits Alec as his eyes meet with Magnus’. As he sees the mask Magnus has put on, nothing exists of the man Alec loves as they stare at each other in silence. But Alec knows Magnus too well, and there are cracks in his armor that he isn’t even sure Magnus can see. The circles under his eyes, the setting of his shoulders, the hitch in his breath when they see each other face to face. 

 

“Mr. Bane,” Alec somehow manages to say, forcing it out over everything else he needs Magnus to know. And there is no teasing lilt in his voice this time, no trace of flirtation, or irony. Just a man desperately in love, trying to keep himself from falling apart in front of the only person who could hold him together. When he holds out his hand, it shakes. 

 

And there it is, the pain, clear as day on Magnus’ face. His lip trembles almost imperceptibly. He opens his mouth to speak, but cannot find the right words to say that he’s sorry, that he loves Alec more than he’s loved anyone. His eyes shine with tears he’s been holding at bay since he walked away. He screws his mask down a little bit tighter. And Magnus knows he can’t touch Alec, that if he shakes his hand, he wouldn’t turn back, he’d pull Alec close, he’d press their lips together, and he’d kiss Alec until everything between them had been forgiven, or forgotten, until the pain that was nearly palpable between them was washed away by whispered I love yous, and tearful apologies. So all he does is say “Hello,”  _ I miss you. I’m sorry.  _ And he straightens the collar of his jacket, brushes at one of the epaulettes on the shoulder. He forces himself to pry his eyes away from Alec’s face, he forces his feet to turn, to walk away. He forces a carefree smile on his face as he joins the others, shaking hands, and playing at idle chit-chat. 

 

And Alec is standing, frozen, his hand still outstretched, and thankful that the others were too focused on catching each other up to pay attention to the fact that he can’t move. He flexes his hand, pulling it close to his chest and massaging it. And for a moment he’s back, leaning against the cold metal railing of Magnus’ fire escape. Wanting to be close to Magnus, but not knowing what to say. Content to just watch Magnus be completely himself, without clients, or meetings, or…Alec’s guilt to weigh him down. Now, Alec can see the heavy setting in Magnus’ shoulders, the tension that had planted and grown there. 

 

“Alec?” Luke’s voice echoes deep and sure of himself, pulling all of Alec’s focus. “You want to get started?”

 

“Y-yes,” Alec clears his throat. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you wait,” Alec makes the trek to the round table in the center of the room. It’s only twenty feet away from him, but every step feels like a mile. By the time Alec gets there, the others have taken their seats. Luke, Raphael, and Meliorn kind enough to leave Alec the seat next to Magnus. On any other day, Alec would have appreciated the opportunity to fake accidental knee brushes with his boyfriend in the middle of the meeting. But today he curls in to himself, trying as he usually does to take up as little space as possible. He can feel Magnus’ eyes boring in to him, but he stares straight ahead,  not brave enough to look back, to acknowledge that the love of his life is sitting inches away from him. And yet they’re millions of miles apart. 

 

Alec settles into his chair, frowning a little in discomfort, much like a throne, the chairs in this room are meant to make anyone who sat on them uncomfortable. “Before we begin, there is something I would like to say.” He squares his shoulders, and looks over the rest of the cabinet. “I started this cabinet three weeks ago in response to the Clave’s baseless and discriminatory actions against the Downworld in lieu of the Shadowhunter murders. It was my intention to extend an olive branch. To provide you with a way to make your voices heard, to force the Clave to pay attention to your demands, and to start treating you as equals. I wanted you to be aware of all Shadowhunter business that involved the Downworld, and I was going to do it with total transparency.” 

 

Magnus shifts in his seat, sucking in a breath, Alec can sense the lingering anger rippling off of him. Alec lifts his chin, lacing his hands together and planting them firmly on the table. He screws his courage down, and he looks over the table.

 

“Three days ago I found out the Clave lied about the Soul Sword, they don’t have it, they’ve been searching for it since Valentine’s attack on the Institute, but it has yet to be located. This is information of which I’m sure you’re all aware. I found out about it from my father. He’s known about it for over a month and the only reason he told me was because he got caught yelling at Max, when he found letters my father wrote to Inquistor Herondale blackmailing her into allowing me to continue on as Head of the Institute after Valentine’s escape. I was told no-one was allowed to know, that it was a secret I must keep for the good of my people…so I immediately went to Isabelle, Clary, and Jace and I told them everything. And they asked me if I was going to tell the cabinet, and for a minute I was hesitant to reply. So I locked myself in my office and I wrote a long list of the pros and cons of telling all of you. See, I shouldn’t be sitting here in front of you right now. If my father hadn’t stepped up, I would have been de-runed for my negligence in the transfer of Valentine to Idris. And the decision I had to make was a big one. This secret is dangerous, and the consequences of telling people are deadly. If I told you, and the word got out, I could be the reason the Downworld stopped trusting the Clave, I could have been the one to incite mass panic, or start a war we cannot afford to fight. But this is information you have every right to know, it affects you far more than it does the Shadowhunters. So…I apologize for being too scared about starting a rebellion to show you the respect and trust you deserve. I’m sorry that I thought it was unfair to make you keep a secret from your people, and that I withheld this information because I didn’t know what you would do with it. I thought I was doing the right thing, taking time to weigh the options, but I chose wrong. I know you all lost faith in the Clave a long time ago, and keeping this information from you would not have changed your minds. Telling you about the Soul Sword most likely would not have altered your opinions, which are justified, nor your response to their treachery, which is understandable. What it has changed, as best I gather, is your impressions of me. I went back on my word, I kept a secret when I promised that I wouldn’t, I withheld vital information from you because I was afraid of repercussions.”

 

He pauses, taking a minute to breathe and survey the current setting of the others’ shoulders, their reactions to what he was saying. Beside him, Magnus has gone still. 

 

“I don’t know if my promises mean anything to you at this point, or if you even want my help, but I want you all to know that whatever decision you make as a result of this, I will fight for you. I cannot fight at your side, I doubt you’d even want me there after everything. But, when it comes to the Clave, I will do everything in my power to prevent their retaliation, if you decide to part ways with the Shadowhunters.”

 

The room is silent for a minute, Luke’s forehead is creased, taking in Alec’s word. Meliorn is the first to break the silence, leaning forward in his chair “And why would you do that?” 

 

“Because we should all be uniting against the common enemy. Valentine is a threat to all of us, the Downworld more than anyone, but the fact remains that he will kill anybody who stands in his way. He is responsible for the deaths of half the people in this Institute. He let a demon loose, used my hands to kill Jocelyn, just so he could steal the Soul Sword. He coerced a 4 year old girl into committing mass murder. He’s kidnapped and tortured mundanes, Downworlders, and Shadowhunters alike. If we spend too long squabbling amongst ourselves, there will be nothing left to fix, because Valentine will slip through the cracks, and he’ll raise Raziel and make his wish, and all of you will die. And that’s not what I want. But the Clave doesn’t care, the Clave can’t let anyone question their authority. If you rebel against them, they will turn their attention to you. They will give half-measures in their search for Valentine, they’ll pretend like they are trying to help, and they will let you all die because you took away their power. I stopped trusting the Clave the minute they thought it was okay to plant tracking devices in your necks. I understand why you want to break the Accords. I don’t think it’s the right decision, I think it’s something to fight for after Valentine and Johnathan are dead, and the threat of genocide is gone. But, I understand why you want to. So, if you decide to walk away from this, to form an alliance that does not include the Shadowhunters, that goes against the Clave, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe from their anger. Even if they banish me for treason, and strip me of my runes.”

 

“You want me to trust you would give up your status as a Shadowhunter in order to protect us?”

 

“Yes, I do”

 

“And why should I?”

 

“Because you are human beings and my life is insignificant when compared to the number of people who will die if Valentine gets what he wants.”

 

“Alec,” Magnus turns to face him, his voice laced with shock and concern. 

 

Alec shakes his head, and manages to look Magnus directly in the eye for the first time since he had disappeared behind that elevator door. “What is there to live for, anymore?” He throws his hands up, relinquishing the tight control he’s been keeping on his emotions. “I might be the Head of the Institute but I’m still a solider, and my life is better served sacrificing for the cause, then staying silent while thousands around me die.”

 

“And you expect us to believe you?” Meliorn scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest and shooting Alec an accusatory glare “How do we know you’re not saying this because your boyfriend is standing right next to you? How can we trust you’d follow through with your promise if he was suddenly gone?”

 

And wasn’t it ironic that Magnus had chosen yesterday to break Alec’s heart? When everything Meliorn had asked him could have been true? “If you’ll forgive me, Meliorn, you know nothing about my relationship with the High Warlock,” It came out more bitter than was intended, but Alec can’t bring himself to care. 

 

“If you’ll forgive me, Alec, your relationship with Magnus is fairly well known. And you can’t deny that your familiarity with him causes a bias, whether or not it is intentional. What can you tell me that will make me believe that you are not saying these things because you want to be a hero for your lover? That you won’t do what every other Shadowhunter has done, and stab us in the back as soon as it is convenient for you? What can you say that will make me trust your word?” 

 

There’s a fury inside of him now, a rage fueled by heartache, and the downfall from a single mistake. It causes Alec to stand up from his chair, and lean over the table. It causes Alec to see red, and to open his mouth to tear Meliorn a new one. But Alec has always been good at keeping his anger at bay. So instead he takes a breath and turns all of his attention to the Seelie sitting across from him. “The High Warlock has made it clear to me that the safety of the Downworld is paramount. I’m making these promises because it is the right thing to do. I’m doing this because I don’t want to deepen the rift between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. I want there to be a path to peace, and I am trying to prove to you that you do not have to break faith with us to survive. I want to make it as easy as possible to enact change within the Clave after the major battle is won. If you violate the Accords, there is no turning back, there is little hope for a society that sees you as equals. No one in the Clave will ever honor your requests, their rules and punishments will multiply tenfold. But, I understand your hesitation to continue living under my people’s oppressive rules, and I will run damage control to the best of my abilities if you play by your own. Try to prevent the Clave from finding more reasons to regulate your lives. Because it’s what we should be doing. Because for too long my people have looked at you like you were disposable, using you for their own benefits and then casting you aside. And that’s not who I want to be.”

 

And for once in Meliorn’s life, he has no clever response. 

 

The whole room is bathed in a tense, contemplative silence. Alec swears he can hear Magnus’ heart beating, but he’s not allowed inside those walls anymore so he drowns it out in his own sorrows. “And, besides,” Alec adds, exhaustion punctuating every word “You can distrust me all you like, but I assure you there is not currently anything between Mr. Bane and I that would cause bias on this cabinet” Alec’s eyes wander to the man standing next to him, the man he loves more than anything, the man he trusts above all else, the man who he doesn’t even recognize anymore, and he feels the tears begin to sting involuntarily in his eyes, as they meet Magnus’ “If you will excuse me for a moment,” 

 

He doesn’t wait for their permission, and perhaps that is another slight that Alec has committed in the midst of trying to do the right thing. But the need to get out, get away from the watchful gazes of the leaders of the Downworld, is too strong for formalities. He was already having trouble catching his breath, another minute in that room would have sucked all the air from his lungs. 

 

He can feel it all coming at him, holes already beginning to form in the dam he built inside of him. His pace quickens and quickens until he is practically running out the door. His eyes, blurry from tears, search frantically for a quiet, dark corner with which to hide himself away from the pain tearing his heart into shreds. 

 

He barely finds the strength to lower himself into a chair along the hallway before he’s gasping for air, curling his hands into fists so hard his nails break the calloused skin of his palms.

 

__

In the room, Magnus feels three sets of eyes on him, but he’s not even there, his body pointed towards the open door, hand frozen where it had been reaching out to grab at Alec’s arm before he could get too far away. Where it had met air and heartache instead of solid flesh. 

 

“Magnus,” Luke’s voice brings him back, to the cold, harsh walls of the conference room. To a day filled with faded colors. To the gaping, Alec’s shaped hole in his heart. 

 

“Hmm?” Is Magnus’ only reply, and he knows there are tears forming in his eyes, but trying to wipe them away would be more obvious than letting the shine in his eyes remain. 

 

Luke says nothing else, just nods softly to the door, every cell in his body telling Magnus  _ Go after him. _ But he's not sure he’s allowed to do that anymore. 

 

Magnus shakes his head “I can’t,” his voice is strained and thick “I’m the last person he wants to see right now,” 

 

“Magnus,” Raphael rolls his eyes “You’re the only person he wants to see right now. Don’t be stupid.” 

 

“This fails to assure me no bias exists in this council,” Meliorn mutters, picking at his finger nails, and looking up to find the others staring at him with cocked eyebrows and insulted glares. 

 

“Magnus, don’t ruin what you have with Alec because you’re scared,” Raphael says, and Magnus bites the inside of his cheek, and goes in search of his boyfriend. 

 

Magnus thought he had seen every side of Alexander since they had been together. He had seen him happy, and sad, he had seen him terrified, and exhausted, he had seen him full of love, and joy. And yesterday, sitting in the hallway while his brother was dying behind a door, Magnus thought he had finally seen Alec broken. How wrong he had been. Alec is sitting on a hard plastic chair in the hallway, head in his hands, shoulders shaking even as he rocks himself gently back and forth. A shell of who he had been just two days before when a confidence he did quite yet know how to carry had finally started to settle on his shoulders. Magnus takes a seat quietly, lets the tension between them fester for a moment as he searches for the right thing to say.

 

“Have you gotten any sleep?” Magnus asks as if nothing had gone wrong between them. His hand goes up to play with his ear cuff. 

 

Beside him, Alec flinches, and Magnus can see the internal debate Alexander is having with himself from the way his fingers twitch, and his breath picks up. Alec pries his hands away from his face, rubbing the last remnants of tears away, and leans back in his seat, staring straight ahead at the boring white wall in front of him. “Have you?” 

 

And, that’s fair enough, Magnus knows, he should have guessed Alec would be mad. “No, I’ve found I’ve grown quite accustomed to sharing a bed,”

 

And Magnus thinks there might be a slight upward twitch to Alec’s lips, but for all he really knows it was a trick of the light. The silence falls between them again, and it is everything but comforting. 

 

“Look, Alexander,” Magnus begins, not entirely sure what he is going to say after that, but knowing that he needs to say something. 

 

“Don’t, Magnus,” Alec scoffs, and it catches Magnus off guard, not just that Alec would interrupt him, he’s never done that before, but that there is anger in his voice, betrayal. 

 

“You don’t know what I’m going to say,” 

 

“It doesn’t matter, it’s not what I’m going to want to hear,” 

 

“How do you know?”

 

“Because, no matter what you say, whether you apologize or you tell me it’s over, it won’t be fair to me. To us.” 

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“I mean, no matter what you say I’ll never stop thinking about what you told me yesterday,” 

 

“That I needed some time to make a difficult decision?” 

 

“No…it’s the stuff you didn’t say,” 

 

“The stuff I-“ 

 

Alec groans in frustration, words have never been his strong suit “You’re the only reason we’re even together. You were the one who convinced me to keep fighting, even when I was scared, even when I thought it was too hard, even when I was tired and wanted to give up. You told me there would always be war, you told me not to push you away, to talk to you if things got bad.” 

 

“I-“

 

“Things are bad, Magnus. Things are very bad, and a war is coming, faster than any of us would ever have hoped. And I know you have to make a hard decision to keep your people safe. But so do I, so does Luke, and Raphael, and the Seelie Queen. And I know that the nature of our relationships would cause rifts between our worlds if we were normal, but you’re the High Warlock, and I’m the Head of the Institute, and that makes everything worse. But if you have to separate yourself from me every time you have to make a hard decision, we won’t have a chance. And that’s not what I want, Magnus, you’re it for me. And I don’t know if that’s what you want to hear, if that scares you, or makes you think I’m crazy. You’re the only person I’ll ever love like this. And I don’t want to lose you.”

 

“You haven’t,”

 

“Haven’t I? Where is the man that crashed my wedding and saved my life? Where is the guy that taught me it’s okay to struggle, that supported me through everything? You didn’t even shake my hand this morning. I’m trying, Magnus. I’m trying so hard to give you the space you need. But I don’t understand it. I know this is a tough decision, and I know you think I lied to you about the Soul Sword, but it kills me to think you didn’t trust me enough to know that I would support you through anything.” 

 

“I’m about to decide to violate the Accords and betray the Shadowhunters, and you think I should have known you’d be okay with that? They are your people, you are one of them, Alexander. You can’t support me and not support them, they’d have you killed. And siding with them would put us on opposite sides. And Meliorn is right, I’m biased. If I didn’t separate myself from you, I wouldn’t have been in the right mindset to make this decision. I wouldn’t have wanted to break faith with The Clave at all because I knew it would hurt you, even if it might be the better decision. This isn’t black and white, Alec.” 

 

“You hurt me anyway.”

 

“It was mercy,” Magnus sighed “Walking away then broke your heart, but breaking faith, without telling you? That would have broken everything. Alec, I needed to think over everything, I needed to weigh my options, without the person I love factoring in to the equation,” 

 

“That doesn’t make it okay!” Alec shouted. “Sorry…I just…I’ve never been the person people care about. My entire life it’s been all about Jace, which is fine, I’m not a big fan of the limelight. But I know what it’s like to feel like you’re expendable. Like people won’t care if you dropped dead in the middle of combat. Like they wouldn’t tear every corner of the world apart to look for you if you went missing. People don’t care about me, Magnus. They never have. And I didn’t think that it bothered me so much, until you came along, and you forced me into the spotlight, and you showed me what happiness could look like.” Magnus’ heart shatters into pieces at the look on Alec’s face, the darkness that covers his brow, the self-loathing that begins to blossom there. 

 

“Alexander,” Magnus can feel the tears rolling down his cheeks but he doesn’t even bother to wipe them away. 

 

“And then you told me the one thing I never wanted to hear. That I was the only thing holding you back, and it killed me Magnus,” Alec can barely get his words out, between sobs and shaky breaths. “Because I love you, I love you so much that it hurts. I would die for you, Magnus, in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t think twice. But, how can I finally start thinking that my existence doesn’t hurt anyone when you tell me that loving you has done just that?” 

 

“Oh, my love,” and Magnus reaches to cup his face, stifling a sob when Alec flinches. Actually  _ flinches _ away from his touch. “That’s not what I meant,” 

 

“It’s what you said,” Alec’s voice is hollow, as if he is dead inside, and Magnus knows exactly what that feels like and it threatens to drown him. “Magnus, you’re the only person who has ever made me feel like I mattered without being obligated to. You told me the night of our first date that you were all for effort. And then you left me alone in that hallway, you walked away when things got hard. And what is left for me to think except that I’m not worth the effort?”

 

“Oh my God, I’m a monster,” Magnus chuckles darkly. 

 

“No, you’re not,” And the sincerity in Alec’s voice makes Magnus’ heart leap into his throat. “You were just...scared, and stressed, and...angry. That doesn’t make you anything but human. But, there are some things we really need to talk about,” 

 

“I know,” 

 

“If you really feel like I’m holding you back, if we don’t make each other stronger, then we shouldn’t be together,” 

 

“We are stronger together,” Magnus’ voice is small and uncertain of himself in a way that Alec has never heard before. “But my heart is tied to yours. Your people say all the time that emotions cloud judgement, and I started to think they were right. I started to wonder if loving you would prevent me from honoring my duty to all the warlocks in New York, to the entire Downworld. And how could I make the right decision for my people, when I want nothing more than to lock myself away with you and never look back?”

 

“Magnus, if you can’t separate loving me from being a leader, this was over before it began.” 

 

“Are you breaking up with me?”

 

“No!” panic rushed into Alec’s voice “No, by the Angel, of course not,” 

 

“Thank God,” and for a moment they just smile at each other, fighting off the urge to laugh. “Then I’m not quite sure I understand what you mean,” 

 

“Uh,” Alec bites at his lip, searching for the right words “I mean...that I may have secrets to keep, and I may make decisions that you disagree with, and vice versa but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love you, or respect you, or trust you. I do. And I will make mistakes.” Alec has turned to face Magnus now, no longer afraid of what he’d find in his eyes. “Often, all the time. And I will learn from them, with a lot of help from you. And you’re allowed to be angry, but you can’t treat me like you did when you found out about the Soul Sword. You can’t act like I don’t care, like I didn’t spend days considering every option before picking the one I thought was the best. You can’t stand there and pretend like I’m not wallowing in guilt, and self-loathing. Like I’m not filled to the brim with doubt. Like I’m not starting to believe everything the Clave thinks about me is true. You know that I would never do anything to hurt you, not intentionally. You know that I’m bad at keeping promises, because it seems like everything I do ends up causing you pain. But, Magnus, if you truly think that I’m a liar, that I would betray you, or the Downworld. Then you don’t know me, and you never really have.” 

 

“I’m sorry, Alexander, that I did that to you,”

 

“You don’t have to apologize, Magnus. It wasn’t your fault,” 

 

“It wasn’t yours either,” 

 

“Maybe so,” 

 

The silence that settles between them, isn’t tense anymore. It’s more like the silence of a long day, when they would sit, cuddling on Magnus’ couch and listening to the sound of the rain. Hovering between consciousness and sleep. This silence is like coming home. It’s a silence that finally allows them to breathe again. 

 

“Are we okay?” Magnus asks, after awhile, when the magnetic undercurrent between them has pulled their shoulder’s together. A single point of contact, but one that feels like heaven to the both of them right now. 

 

“No,” Alec sighs, leaning his head against the wall, and giving Magnus a small smile “But we will be,” 

 

When he holds out his hand, it doesn’t shake, and this time, Magnus takes it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. As always, comments and critiques are welcome. You can find me at fatal-vision.tumblr.com or right here on AO3.


End file.
